Otto’s—one of the country’s oldest bookstores—is up for sale
One of the nation’s five oldest bookstores, Otto Bookstore (or as patrons refer to it: Otto’s), is up for sale. Publishers Weekly’s Judith Rosen reports that the announcement comes from Betsy Rider, the… Read more »
Chinese translation of Indian poet draws criticism from state and scholars alike
A new edition of Nobel Prize-winner Rabindranath Tagore’s Stray Birds has drawn controversy from multiple camps, reports Neil Connor at The Telegraph. Foremost amongst the critics is—perhaps not-so-surprisingly—the Chinese government, which has pulled… Read more »
University of Iowa president makes badly-timed joke, librarian calls him out
University of Iowa president Bruce Harreld raised more than eyebrows last week during a staff council meeting when he remarked that professors teaching without lesson plans “should be shot.” As reported… Read more »
Siren İdemen wins inaugural Talât Sait Halman Translation Prize
In the wake of the death of influential poet, cultural critic, historian and professor Talât Sait Halman in 2014, the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) has established the Talât… Read more »
From the pen of a French beggar, a bestseller is born
Jean-Marie Roughol, a panhandler on the streets of Paris for 27 years and running, has sold upwards of 50,000 copies of his memoir, My Life as a Panhandler: A Life on… Read more »
Lost Pablo Neruda poems—found and crowdfunded
In June 2014, upon reading about the discovery of new poems by Pablo Neruda, Michael Wiegers, executive editor at the nonprofit poetry publisher Copper Canyon Press, wrote the Neruda Foundation,… Read more »
PEN urges Chinese government to free dissident poets Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia
PEN International has called (once again) for the Chinese government to release poet and human rights advocate Liu Xiaobo, who was sentenced in 2008 to eleven years in prison for “inciting subversion… Read more »
Scottish publisher fights charges it used public funding to publish a book praising ruling political party
Glasgow-based publisher Freight Books is facing criticism for allegedly using public arts funding from Creative Scotland to publish a laudatory book about members of the ruling Scottish National Party parliament. The book in… Read more »
Fitzcarraldo Editions announces book-length essay prize
Fitzcarraldo Editions launched last year with the UK publication of Zone by Mathias Énard—this year’s recipient of France’s prestigious Prix Goncourt prize. Since then, the publisher’s catalog has grown to include… Read more »
The Girl in the Red Coat – Sticky